Manufacturing method of optical component or molding die therefor

Abstract

A method of manufacturing an optical component or a molding die for the optical component, the method comprising the steps of: cutting a surface of a work with a tool by rotating the tool around its axis with a cutting edge facing outward and moving in a circle to cut the work surface at a point of the circle while relatively moving the tool and the work in a line direction crossing to the axis of the tool at a predetermined feed speed; and cutting the work surface in a next line after relatively moving the tool and the work in a pitch direction perpendicular to the line direction by a pick feeding distance in such a condition that: tool rotation speed (S): 10000 to 30000 rpm; feed speed (F): 300 to 2000 mm/min; rotating radius (D) of a cutting edge of a tool: 5 to 15 mm; pick feeding distance (f): 0.01 to 0.04 mm; nose radius (r) of a cutting edge of a tool: 5 to 20 mm. The method allows to form a surface of a work into a free-form surface having a surface roughness of approximately 10 nm or less.